A Sailor Girl's Hat Excerpt: Griffin
by Kitren101
Summary: This is an excerpt of a book that I am writing. Lily Hammenhed is an orphan. Working for the despicable Hammenheds she has to struggle through everyday. That is until a package comes and changes her life forever.
1. Chapter 1

Marsala looked in the mirror and screamed. She closed her eyes, screamed some more and looked in the mirror again. She shrieked. On top of her head, peeking through her hair, were 2 golden bristle tipped, bobcat's ears. She turned to Sailor, furious, "What the heck did you do!?!?!?!" She yelled.

Sailor, at the moment, was on the floor clutching his ears. "Where on earth did you learn to scream like that?" He asked tentatively uncovering his ears. "What?! I grow a second pair of ears, not even human ones, on top of my head, and all you can worry about is my screaming? You…"Marsala was at a loss for words. She turned back to the mirror. Cautiously, she lifted her hair where her real ears were supposed to be….. Nothing. Just smooth human skin. Marsala felt her stomach sinking. Frantically she pulled up more hair. Her ears had disappeared.

She sank to her knees. What was going on here? She turned to say something else to Sailor when she noticed something else, a feather. She craned her head to see better and froze. The feather was attached to a wing, the wing was attached to her back, her back was attached to her…

I have wings and ears; I've turned into some freaky cat-bird thing!!! She thought hysterically. There was one more thing right below her wings, twitching under her skirt, a golden tail. Great, she thought, I've got wings, ears, and a freaky tail. What's happening to me?!?!? Marsala turned back to the mirror. Something was different about her face, she looked closer. What was it? She nearly screamed again, her EYES. It was her eyes that were different. They had turned from their regular gray color to a golden inferno of specks and liquidy diamonds. Her pupils themselves had elongonated into a dark slit in the middle of her eye, turning her human eyes into a cat's. She couldn't take it anymore. Marsala fainted.

***

She woke up with Sailor's concerned face right above her. "Are you alright?" He asked her. Marsala shut her eyes again. "My head feels like a rhino sat on it." "What's a rhino?" asked Sailor, totally puzzled. "Forget it." Then she remembered. Marsala sat up automatically grasping at her head. There. There they were those two fuzzy stiff ears. They twitched, and Marsala whipped her hands off her head as if they were burned. She looked up at Sailor in horror. "Sailor, I have EARS. What did you do?" She whispered. The shock was too much, and tears slid down her pale thin cheeks.

Sailor was still looking down at the floor his face a mask of guilt and relief. He started to raise his head. "No," Marsala whispered "don't look at me please, don't." Sailor ignored the plea and looked at his work. He couldn't move. Marsala was still crying and raised her tear-stained face. "why, Sailor, why did you do this? Do you hate me so much? Am I forever to be stuck in this horrid form?" Her voice escalated until it rose into a wailing screech. "Why?!?!?!" "You're not horrid…" said Sailor."What?" Marsala balked. Sailor looked her full in the face, his dark blue eyes unreadable.

"You're beautiful." Despite the current crisis, she felt stunned. It was the first compliment he had ever paid her. It wasn't one of his usual bribing remarks either.

Her tail twitched, breaking the spell. She could FEEL it. It was the same thing with the wings, too. Marsala could feel each individual feather. It was as if she had grown extra nerve endings or something. The ears on top of her head as well. She could hear every sound perfectly. From Sailor's soft breathing to the rustle of her skirt, she could hear it all. "Get a hold of yourself Marsala. "she thought. She took a deep shuddering breath. Suddenly Sailor shoved something roughly into her hands. "Put it on." He said. it will give you back your human form. Sailor rose from his kneeling position and stalked out of the room. Marsala took a look at what he had given her. Her amber eyes widened. It was the winged crystal! But wait, this one was different. Instead of having a cord to secure it to her neck, it was attached to a collar-like choker. Marsala took a suspicious look at it. The silver wings of the purple stone shivered as she brushed her fingers up against it. Wiping away the remains of the tears, she put the open-winged choker around her neck. Marsala opened her mouth in surprise, as a shiver ran through her. She could feel the wings, tail and ears retracting into her body, an extremely curious sensation. When it was over she cautiously looked into the mirror once more and nearly leaped for joy. All of the extra appendages had vanished! She pulled back the hair from the sides of her head. Her human ears were back! The ex-bird/cat girl turned around in a full circle. Gone it was all gone! She grinned at herself in the mirror, her sky-gray eyes shining. It was good to be human again!

Now, it was time to throttle some answers out of Sailor. Marsala smiled grimly to herself and turned toward the doorway to interrogate Sailor.

***


	2. Chapter 2

Sailor still couldn't believe his eyes. When Marsala became a griffin he was expecting the usual, or at least what he had been told to expect. The regular was clawed hands, beady eyes, dark orange wings and fur and a beaky countenance, maybe even a full metamorphose- basically, a disgusting half-breed of a Guardian Lion and Roc. He was not expecting to have a beautiful girl sitting in front of him. He recalled the image of Marsala in his brain. The mere thought of it took his breath away. That long elegant tail, strong, slim GOLDEN wings, and those eyes. The piercing amber had seemed to see straight into his soul.

She wasn't the ordinary. What had happened? This had to be some sort of mistake. Maybe it was….

No. Sailor shook his head hard. Half breeds were basically half everything.

Half-brained, half- ugly, half- starving (depending on the condition they were found in) and half animal. Half-breeds were barely human. There thought processes were all wrong. It was eat, sleep, mate, fight, die. He had long been in the ReCollection business. The Lions had the same program.

Even as sworn enemies, it was both Clans' obligation to find the crossbreeds and, depending on how sane they were, send them to a Combination Camp. Sailor shivered. He had seen the A1 level Halfers. It had only been once but Sailor had seen enough to give him nightmares for months.


End file.
